Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Devil's Head

Today, I'm trying something a little different. I've been restricting myself to showing, at most, a single picture a day. Today, I’ll post a little series.

On Saturday I went to Roxborough State Park to catch a sunrise shot. I got a few, and by 7:00AM I was done. Instead of driving home via the Interstate, I took the Rampart Range road – a 60-mile gravel road from the town of Sedalia to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.

Along the way, I stopped at the Devil’s Head trail. The trail is about 1.4 miles climbing up about 950ft to the historic Devil’s Head Lookout Tower. It was built in 1921 and is the last remaining of 11 original Front Range lookout towers.

Once you reach the cabin where the ranger stays, you can climb up the 143 steps to get the lookout. The tower is a small glass-enclosed building with lots of lightning protection. I’d love to ride out a storm up there – what a sight that would be!

From the top, you have a great 360 degree view. According to the USDA National Forest site, one can see mountain peaks over 100 miles on a clear day.

If you're ever in the area, it’s a great hike with an interesting destination. But, bring water!